Dodgers beat Rockies 8-0 behind Kershaw’s 10 Ks
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw pitched eight strong innings, Shane Victorino hit a three-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 8-0 on Friday night to remain three games behind St. Louis for the second NL wild card with five games to play.
The Dodgers’ third victory in a row clinched a winning season for the second straight year under manager Don Mattingly.
Kershaw (13-9) allowed five hits, struck out 10 and walked two. He helped himself in the seventh, starting a double play when he turned around and fielded Andrew Brown’s comebacker between his legs with his back to the plate and fired to second for the first out.
The Dodgers provided Kershaw with early run support, taking a 4-0 lead in the second off Jeff Francis (5-7). Andre Ethier’s RBI double scored the first run and Victorino followed with his 11th homer.
Los Angeles made it 5-0 in the fourth when Ethier singled and scored on a double-play grounder by Kershaw.
Bobby Abreu had his first career pinch-hit homer, a two-run shot off Will Harris with two outs in the eighth, extending the Dodgers’ lead to 8-0.
Making his team-leading 23rd start, Francis gave up six hits and five runs in four innings, struck out three and walked one to fall to 0-3 in his last six starts. The left-hander hasn’t won since Aug. 27 against the Dodgers. The Rockies’ four-game winning streak ended.
NOTES: Kershaw struck out at least 10 for the third time this season and 18th in his career. ... Los Angeles earned its first shutout win since Aug. 19, a 5-0 victory at Atlanta. ... The Dodgers sent INF Stefan Jarrín, the son of Dodger Spanish-language broadcaster Jorge and grandson of Hall of Famer broadcaster Jaime, to Philadelphia as the player to be named later in the July 31 Victorino trade. The 22-year-old Jarrín batted .209 with three homers and nine RBI in 26 games for the rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers. ... Tony Orlando serenaded Tom Lasorda with “Happy Birthday” between innings. Lasorda, who turned 85 last weekend, received a standing ovation from the crowd and both teams.